Seeing her monsters were no longer under her control, Cheol Su-ryun could not hider shock.
My father-in-law, Sima Chak, who had been cutting them down one after another, looked at me, wondering if the monsters were now under me.
-What happened? Why are they following you?
I replied to the curious Short Sword.
‘… her internal qi and heavenly authority has been absorbed inside me.’
-Heavenly authority?
I had also absorbed Blood Demon’s Will, his sword technique, and True Evil Sword’s Will and her technique into my body in the past.
The power of the flame and the Will maintained a strong desire to exist. That was why the Will held every memory.
-But that woman is still alive?
I didn’t know the reason either. She was definitely a living human being.
With one technique, she used her art to transfer her soul into mine to attempt to steal my body. However, her Will had been absorbed into mine instead.
‘Ah!’
At that moment, a lot of her knowledge entered my head. Looking at what I saw in my mind, I managed to grasp her technique through her memory despite never having learned sorcery.
-What is it?
I think I understand now.
-About what?
Unlike the Will, the soul belonged to the body. When a person died, the soul would return to the realm of spirits.
This was because the soul was a spiritual existence and belonged to a higher plane than this world. Yet, this woman was alive.
If the body was alive, the soul would still be anchored to it. According to the laws of nature, it would return to its original place.
-Why is it so complicated?
To put it simply, her soul entered my body and was absorbed into the Heavenly Authority, which controlled the flame. Her soul had been forcibly bound without being able to return to the spirit realm.
Clench!
Her claws were digging into my neck as she asked in confusion.
“What have you done? Why are my children obeying your orders?”
“… are you asking me this because you don’t know?”
“You are trying to play with me! Inside your body, the… the….”
She could no longer speak properly, and I could figure out why.
In that instant, I snatched away the wrist which was holding my neck.
“How dare you!”
She raised her hand to prevent me from doing anything, but, to my surprise, her hand was trembling.
“What?”
I was also shocked when I showed I had more strength than her. She seemed unaware of just how much internal qi my body had taken from her.
Papapal!
She grabbed my wrist and tried to break it as I was pushed back. Shockingly, I could see how her technique would work inside my head.
Taking advantage of the time I had, I reversed her hand technique and grabbed her wrist to throw her away.
Thud!
She frowned in pain as she landed on the ground but soon bounced back as she stood back up and took a stance.
“To think that your internal qi suddenly increased in such a short period of time.”
She mumbled in confusion as she struggled to understand what was happening.
“That is what I was saying. Or maybe you are just weak?”
“What?”
Only then did she check her internal qi.
As she checked her own dantian, she seemed puzzled at the large disappearance of qi.
“Just how is this….”
-Is she pretending to not know? Does she not know?
It seemed like she didn’t know. Her attempt to take over my body also seemed to have taken some of her memories.
Something must be wrong with her as her Will had been absorbed. Without being able to see within, she turned to me in disbelief and shouted.
“What did you do to me?”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“Nonsense! You didn’t do anything? Then why is my internal qi so…”
With that, she touched her forehead and frowned as if in pain.
“What is this? Why can I not remember… I…”
She looked visibly confused. The soul’s Will was part of the desire that a person held.
Judging from her reaction, it seemed that most of her Will’s memories were also lost.
“Why… why can I not remember? Why!”
She held her head.
Without missing this chance, Sima Chak stepped forward.
Swish!
His iron balls struck near both of Cheol Su-ryun’s ankles. She was forced to kneel as her bones cracked.
“Euk!”
She had definitely lost her internal qi; otherwise, she would not have been pushed back to this extent. She had easily avoided Sima Chak’s attacks before, so this only showed how weak she had become.
Sima Chak, confirming that she was now weak, said to me.
“You bought us a chance.”
“I was just lucky.”
“Du Gong had said that your vision was strange as he could not see your heavenly qi. However, it seems that you are gifted.”
‘Du Gong?’
I’ve heard that name somewhere… Ah!
-What is it?
Du Gong!
He was one of the Eight Great Warriors and was considered a wise man.
He was known as the Millenium Emperor due to his vast knowledge. Did Sima Chak have a relationship with him?
Moreover, when did Du Gong even have the chance to evaluate me?
-Is that so surprising?
Of course.
I heard rumors that Du Gong was an expert at feng shui and could feel a person’s heavenly qi.
He was said to be able to read a person’s fortune by just looking at their face. Since he also said that he wouldn’t read the secrets of heaven, I was naturally interested when his name was mentioned.
Sima Chak snorted as he said,
“Kill that old woman.”
“Uh?”
“Since you were their target, wouldn’t it be better to deal with them yourself?”
Saying this, he sheathed his sword and placed his hands behind his back. I thought that, with his temper, he would make a move, but it was strange that he was backing down for me.
“That old woman’s head would help your fame.”
“Ah….”
So he decided to give the glory to me.
I had wondered why he was giving me the chance to slay this woman, but it was for my fame. Even though he spoke like he disliked me, he did care for me.
Probably because he thought it would help Sima Young live a better life.
-He’s pretending to not like you and yet is secretly taking care of you.
Short Sword observed.
I looked at the Revolting Mother, who could no longer stand up.
As her Will had been absorbed into me, I had some of her memories, but I could not find information on the golden-eyed lord’s weakness.
It was the same when I did not get all of the Blood Demon’s memories.
“I will give you one last chance. I will spare your life if you tell me why he is looking for the swords.”
“You!”
Sima Chak tried to say something but then fell silent. It seemed that he wanted to see where I was going with this.
I bowed my head slightly and then looked at her.
Cheol Su-ryun looked at me and said,
“I don’t know what you did, but did you think I would tell you?”
Of course, I knew she wouldn’t speak so easily. Well, then, I don’t need to care about what means or methods I use.
Since I had memories I had taken from here, I whispered.
“Even if your internal qi is lowered, those ears of yours will be able to detect the presence of people coming from far away, right?”
She frowned at this.
She could clearly feel the energy around us. My father-in-law noticed it as well, which was why he held the iron balls in his hand.
-Who is it? Should I check it out?
No, there was no need to.
I knew who it was, so I slowly turned around.
“Her children are coming. You raised them well, but will your children be able to deal with my father-in-law and me?”
I could feel five people around us.
One was at the Super Master level, while the rest were merely masters.
If the memories I absorbed from her were accurate, they must be the children she kidnapped and raised since childhood.
They were the men who helped her in kidnapping the young and turned living people into ugly beings half the time.
-Half the time?
I meant those monsters.
It was also a suitable description as they only had half a life and were half alive.
Sima Chak fiddled with his iron ball.
“What can be done? Should I bring them all out?”
He was ready to attack all those who were around us. I shook my head at this and said,
“I will do it.”
Hearing this, Sima Chak snorted and placed the iron balls back into his hand.
It seemed like he really didn’t want to be involved. He crossed his arms and simply waited to see what would happen.
I shouted.
“Will you let your mother die?!”
As soon as they heard these words, a rustling sound came from the bushes. Before long, five figures jumped down from the trees.
They were five men, three who seemed to be in their 50s, one in his early 30s, and finally, an elder in his 60s.
All of them looked impatient. The strongest and eldest of them then said,
“You must be the Blood Demon. I’ve heard about you.”
“You must be Cheol Um-yu, the eldest brother of the Heinously Lewd Four Demons.”
‘…?!’
My words made him frown.
It seemed that he had assumed that I would not know about him. I came to know their identities as I read through Cheol Su-ryun’s memories. They were four brothers called the Heinously Lewd Four Demons, a group that gained its name 30 years ago.
-The other one?
The young man in his 30s was called Yang Jong, who was someone caught in the fight between Sima Chak and the old woman. Three people had died after being manipulated, so he was one of the adopted children taken in by the old woman.
They had disappeared once after being attacked by Baek Hyang-muk, leader of the Murim Alliance.
No one knew that they were raised by the Revolting Mother.
One of the men in his 50s then said,
“Let go of our mother and just back away.”
“What if I don’t back away?”
Hearing this, the man rang a bell in his hand.
Tring!
However, nothing happened which shocked him.
“No way. Those half-timed things?”
“You just believed in these things and tried that?”
Snap!
And I lightly snapped my fingers.
The seated monsters quickly surrounded the men. As they were following my orders, those brothers must feel this was an absurd situation.
She then shouted at them.
“Just go! They are not people you can deal with!”
“Mother!”
They were saying it to this strange child.
Imagine calling this young child as a mother.
I idly thought that a mother-and-child relationship was really one made of pure emotions.
“Cheol Um-yu. You have been assisting this woman for so long, right? So don’t you know where her real body is?”
Hearing this, his eyes trembled.
-What do you mean?
There was a coffin somewhere out there that contained her real body.
The fact that she had created so many followers and honed her skills meant that she was trying to preserve her body.
“… just how?”
The man was shocked when I said something that no one else should ever know. Who could even predict that I managed to steal her memories?
Even Cheol Su-ryun showed signs of anxiousness when she heard these words from my mouth.
“What the hell are you? How can you know that!”
I smiled at her and said,
“I know a lot more than you think. That the body you have now is the child you gave birth to.”
‘…!!’
Hearing this, her white eyes trembled. Even if I couldn’t see it, I knew she was going through extreme emotional turmoil.
I approached her and bent down to her eye level.
“Your body is no longer able to bear children, but you forcibly took over other women’s bodies and tried to give birth, so you wouldn’t get punished.”
Her eyes went blank.
She mumbled as if she couldn’t understand.
“Why… why did I just forget?”
Because I had her Will.
Losing her Will seemed to have caused her to lose many things. She looked confused as I told her.
“You don’t even know that there is no way you can survive if the body is burned. So speak.”
“You!”
This was her last secret.
Even if she was using this body as she pleased, she could do nothing if her real body was burned. I then continued speaking without turning my gaze away from her.
“Tell me where it is. I will break the seal placed on you.”
“What?”
Cheol Um-yu’s eyes trembled further at my words. All of these children had been sealed by her.
That was why they ended up following her even though they had been kidnapped. She then shouted.
“Children! Do not be fooled! None can take away Mother’s spell!”
She must have been afraid that they would give up her location.
“Mother is right. He is trying to sway us.”
“That’s right, hyung.”
Aside from Cheol Um-yu, the others were also trying to convince him to not be shaken. He regained his composure and considered the credibility of my words. I simply snapped my fingers.
Snap!
At that moment, one of the men in his 50s grabbed his head and screamed in pain.
“Kuaaaakkk!”
The veins on his forehead swelled, making it look as if it would burst. The rest of them were shocked.
“Cha Sang!”
“Kuaaaak!”
Cheol Um-yu shouted.
“Mother! Stop this! Cha Sang will die at this rate!”
In response, she simply shouted.
“Kkakakakaka!”
This had to be how she cast her spells. However, the man’s pain did not stop.
His veins burst, and his face was covered in blood.
“W-why is it not working?”
She could not hide her shock when her skills no longer worked.
“I guess it doesn’t make sense. Should we do it again?”
Snap.
This time, the man in his 30s who stood next to Cheol Um-yu grabbed his head.
The veins on his forehead also swelled.
“Jong Man!”
“KUAKKKKK!”
Seeing this, the rest of the brothers looked at me in shock.
“H-How can you learn the secrets of mother, Blood Demon?”
They couldn’t believe it.
It was because I was using the Revolting Mother’s skills.
I smiled and said,
“Because it belongs to me.”
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